


Loyal

by Octopocalypse



Category: Naruto
Genre: Falling In Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, M/M, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Romantic Friendship, Trauma, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-10-16 06:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10565445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Octopocalypse/pseuds/Octopocalypse
Summary: Something terrible happens on a mission and Choji couldn't be there to protect Shikamaru, now he's staying at the Inuzuka Trauma Recovery Center and refusing to see anyone.Friendships and relationships are tried as Choji struggles with separation and Kiba with loneliness while Shikamaru struggles to recover from a careless mistake that scars much more than his face.





	1. Separation Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

> He demanded answers, an explanation at least for why he couldn’t see Shikamaru. The only answer he got was that he had requested it. A fact which shook Choji deeply.  
> Shikamaru had asked not to see him.

It was bound to happen, Choji told himself, especially since Shikamaru made Chunin. 

They were bound to be separated; ninja were scarce, Shikamaru would have to go lead other teams and Choji would have missions of his own. No, he couldn't always be there to protect him. And that was the problem wasn't it? He wanted to be there, to protect him. Sure, Shikamaru was smart and more than capable on his own, but shit still happened. And shit sure as hell happened on that mission.

 

Choji knew things were bad when Lady Tsunade wouldn't let him in to see him, which was bullshit and he boldly told her so. It was bullshit because the last time he’d seen Shikamaru, the medics were hauling ass through the gates. The last time he’d seen Shikamaru he couldn't even make out his face through all the blood, butting shoulders, and worried faces.

The last time he saw Shikamaru he wasn’t responding to his name, touch, sound or  _ anything _ . The last time he saw Shikamaru everyone around got real quiet, his mom and dad had to be held back by several Jonin and for the first time he saw two grown people cry.

Because the last time he saw Shikamaru, he reeked of blood and dirt but worse of all, fear. Choji might not have the nose of an Inuzuka, but he was sure everyone could smell the fear. A fear that smelled a lot like death.

 

Now Choji knew all about the aftermath of the Sasuke rescue mission. He knew that Shikamaru had waited outside the room for him, that he had  _ cried _ when he heard the news that his best friend would be all right. He knew that he had tried quitting his Shinobi life there and then, because the thought of him being the cause of Choji’s death was bad enough. He wouldn’t be responsible for others too. He knew that Shikaku had chewed him out for that, because Shikamaru told him himself when they sat down together again. So Choji knew, and if Shikamaru had fretted during the days he had spent recovering unconscious in a hospital bed, it was nothing compared to how Choji worried.

He slept outside the emergency room, refused most food, and not even his father could talk sense into him. He was a lost cause without Shikamaru, and nothing was going to stop him from seeing his best friend first thing when he recovered. So when he found out they’d relocated the Nara while Choji was sleeping, he nearly kicked down the Hokage's door in unbridled Akimichi rage.

He demanded answers, an explanation at least for why he couldn’t see Shikamaru. The only answer he got was that he had requested it. A fact which shook Choji deeply.

Shikamaru had asked not to see him.

Which meant something really bad had happened. For him to shut him out like that, it simply wasn’t like him. They were best friends, more than that, if Shikamaru had a problem Choji was usually the first one he came to for help. They had an unbreakable trust built up between them from a childhood spent together, surely Shikamaru could  _ trust _ him. Couldn’t he?

Bad turned to worse when Tsunade told him the shinobi in question was going to spend a few weeks at the Inuzuka compound to recover.

Recovery in the wilderness, surrounded by dogs, meant trauma.

His fists clenched as he realized what that meant. Shikamaru had gone through something terrible, something near deadly and so scary it was likely to scar him mentally. A traumatized ninja was never a good thing, a traumatized ninja couldn’t perform as well in battle.

But treatment meant a potential to recover. It also meant consciousness. Meant Shikamaru was walking, talking, and breathing. Shikamaru was alive, and he didn’t want to see him.

He’d be lying if he said the thought of it didn’t bother him. It did, it tore him up inside, but not nearly as much as the unknown. He still had no idea what transpired; Lady Tsunade, Shino nor anyone else who had been on that mission would give him any sort of consideration. 

And that bastard Kiba! Who now got to see his best friend more than him, who had no right to, but still had more information then he did. Even when Choji cornered him, his demeanor uncharacteristically threatening, the dog boy just dodged and dipped his way around questions like everybody else.

It began to be unbearable. The days went on and he grew exhausted of this wild goose chase for answers. There was a hurt in his chest that grew worse and worse the more he was denied what he wanted, what he needed. He swapped starvation for overeating, and spent most of his days cooped up in a booth with a couple dozen orders of barbecue and a steaming bowl of Shikamaru’s favourite miso.

He practically lived there, from open to close he sat in that booth, fighting with his thoughts for some semblance of sanity. The clouds over head didn't bring him peace but longing, the food tasted bland no matter the flavor and the fuller he stuffed himself the emptier he felt. The owner would let him stay well past closing, but when the cleaning was done he had to go, and those were the moments he hated most. He'd wander the Konoha at the dead of night, stumbling like a drunk looking for one more last call, but his last call ended weeks ago, ended when the only pillar he had to lean on fell way and his world crumbled without him.

He was alone. The night reminded him of this as he trudged through empty streets like a one track mind. He didn't know what home felt like any more, so he searched for it. And every time his compass lead him to the same quiet spot, a soft green hill so open and wide it left you vulnerable to a sky that threatened to fall down. He'd lay in the familiar spot, he'd come feeling heavy but as the hours drew on he found the position was flipped, he wasn't laying on the earth, but the earth was laying on him. The earth and the sky, together, crushing him between them as he thought of better times.

If he was a bolder, than Shikamaru was his rock. A tiny thing, holding him in place as he threatened to teeter over the edge, threatening the destruction of everything around him. Threatening the destruction, of himself. Choji was the bolder, but he was the rock, and without him he was crashing down the face of a cliff, tearing off chunks of himself until he was neigh unrecognizable.

Some nights he’d stumble into Ino as she closed up the shop for her parents. She’d follow him with concern, questions that were addressed to him but never really found their way. He could feel her getting frustrated by his lack of response, but she carried on, following him to the hill at the park, laying with him in the dark.

Eventually she stopped pressing for answers and just talked. She talked about his parents, and how he couldn’t keep doing this, she talked about all the people who worried about him like that made some kind of difference. When he did hear what she had to say, he only felt worse, guilt gnawing at the pit of him. For the most part he didn’t remember what she had to say, for the most part her words just drifted uselessly about his head. The words would jumble in the haze and it no longer mattered what they meant, mattered no more than the little speck in the universe he was. That was all that he was without him, no more than a dot floating in an endless sea. Eventually Ino would give up, push herself off the grass that was already starting to suck Choji down. Sometimes he swore she’d lean over and kiss his forehead, but he was far too gone to know for sure.

In the night he would cry, sleep, and then cry. And in the morning he would trace the path back to the restaurant, seat himself in his booth, less the person he was the day before. A little more broken off and fallen away.  He cried, a lot, and more often than not the owner would offer him free appetizers to help with the loss. It didn't help though, nothing  _ really  _ helped, no amount of food would fill the empty place in his chest and he knew it, nothing fit like Shikamaru.

 

A week went by; and Choji was nursing himself over kebabs, when someone slid into the seat across from him. He lifted his puffy eyes reluctantly to see Asuma there, staring out the window.

He waved off the waitress trying to take his order, and a moment of silence passed between them.

“I just got back from the Inuzuka compound.” He said at last, more to the window than to Choji. He felt himself perk up at that though and he sat up straight in the booth to hear what his Sensei had to say. He knew Asuma had been visiting, knew because Asuma would often come see him with small news about the boy that so plagued his thoughts. Asuma knew of their relationship, and so he sympathised. Yet he still wouldn’t offer a reason for why his team mate was being so elusive. 

“Shikamaru is doing well, his face is healing nicely.” He paused, as if remembering Choji still had no idea what had happened. The irritation probably showed on his face but Asuma paid no mind if he had actually noticed. Instead, he turned to him, offering a sweet and caring look. “You have to understand… it's been hard for him too. He didn't want you to see that, didn’t want you to worry. Everyone keeps telling him it's going to scar and I think he was just hoping it wasn't true.” The words shocked him. Scar? He remembered the blood that covered the right side of Shikamaru’s face, but he hadn’t had time to consider what had caused it. The thought made his stomach reel and churn and suddenly he regretted eating so much. “He’s coming around though.” His Sensei continued, either oblivious or uncaring toward the pain likely etched on Choji’s face. “I don't think it will be much longer before he's ready to see you again...” Choji opened his mouth as the other started to trail off, he had so many questions but Asuma was already getting back up.

“Have patience little one…” He said, letting a hand fall heavy on Choji’s shoulder. “Shikamaru said, to tell you, to let him have one more week.” And with that he was gone. 

Choji didn’t care though, he just sat, staring at the bowl of miso, the smell of which he was noticing for the first time. 

_ Shikamaru said. _ The words echoed in his mind. It was the first actual contact they’ve had in a week and Choji held fast to that. Maybe, just maybe, things weren’t as bad as they seemed.

A smile pulled at his lips in spite of himself, it was the first one that graced his mouth since before the incident. He was seeing in colour once again. The sky was blue, the soup was hot, and he’d be damned if he was going to let his best friend’s favourite food go to waste. 


	2. A little R&R

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip was usually a relaxing and beautiful one. The trees were all budding and full of life this time of year, fresh baby leaves unfurling just in time to blot out the spring sun. A sight Shikamaru would have soaked up and loved. In fact, had they been making the trip together, they probably never would have made it. As the Nara would inevitably find a perfect spot to lay beneath the foliage to do some quality cloud gazing. Of course, if they’d been making the trip together there would be no point, and thus, no rush in getting to their destination.

Shikamaru, true to his word, requested Lady Tsunade call on Choji a little under a week later. He had permission to visit.

Though Shikamaru would remain at the compound for two more weeks, she explained, Choji was allowed to see him whenever he pleased now. So long as it was during the appropriate hours of visitation, and Shikamaru still approved it. She added, in a tone that told him it would be best not to push his luck. 

She also drove a few words of caution into him, widely surrounding the issue of his injury. She made him promise not to mention anything regarding his mission, the injury itself or what caused it. It already seemed a little intense, and then she started warning him against loud noises and sudden movements. Choji simply stood in front of her desk, nerves on high as he awaited his dismissal, nodding along to every word, so much his head might roll off his shoulders and fall to the floor. He couldn’t believe the severity of her voice. 

Sure everyone knew there were risks that came with being a ninja, but they just didn’t seem like things that happened to people you  _ knew _ . It was always “a friend of a friend”. Of course there always had to be someone who was  _ that friend _ , and it looked like Choji was it now. The friend of someone who got severely hurt, the one who would tell the story to everyone as a word of caution. Only to have no one listen, because those kinds of things don’t happen to  _ you _ . They happen to other people. 

Only it happened to Shikamaru. The most important person in the world to him, and he had been nowhere near the situation. No way to help or console. He still didn’t even know what had happened! He was so angry at first that he had wanted to tear down Tsunade’s office from top to bottom just to get some answers. What he wouldn’t give to feel some of that anger now, to feel anything at all. Instead he was just empty inside. Everything seemed so distant, as his brain still grappled with the idea that he was actually  _ allowed _ to see Shikamaru again.

After all the seriousness, Tsunade gave a smirk at his impatience, looking like she might just lecture him again about taking Shikamaru’s recovery seriously. She decided against it though, and gave him a curt nod and a wave, watching him burst from the room without a moment's hesitation. 

Choji immediately took to the road, deciding already to walk the two and a half miles it was to the Inuzuka’s. The trip was usually a relaxing and beautiful one. The trees were all budding and full of life this time of year, fresh baby leaves unfurling just in time to blot out the spring sun. A sight Shikamaru would have soaked up and loved. In fact, had they been making the trip together, they probably never would have made it. As the Nara would inevitably find a perfect spot to lay beneath the foliage to do some quality cloud gazing. Of course, if they’d been making the trip together there would be no point, and thus, no rush in getting to their destination. The thought tugged at his heart, making his yearning grow ever more. The desire to just  _ be _ with him again ached in every bone of his body. He didn’t stop to take in the scenery, not even for a moment, as he rushed to the complex of homes dedicated to the Inuzuka clan.

The recovery center was a little ways up the crest of a hill just passed the actual clans compound. Somewhere secluded, surrounded by trees and wilderness. Not that the Inuzuka compound wasn’t already surrounded by wilderness, but he supposed they thought the patients would require a little more privacy.

Even though he’d been itching for this moment more than anything, Choji found himself frozen once he finally reached the door to the facility. He didn’t even know what he was going to say when he saw his friend again. 

How would Shikamaru react to seeing him? What would he say? How would he explain his avoidance of him? 

And what would Choji do if Shikamaru had good reason to not want to see him? What if distance had grown between them? What if a chasme had formed and nothing Choji had to offer could breach it? More so he fretted that he would react badly to- whatever it was everyone was so freaked out about.

Worst of all he wondered if maybe Shikamaru’s injury had changed him. Maybe he  _ wouldn’t _ have stopped on that hill to gaze at the clouds. Maybe he was so different he no longer enjoyed the things he used to, and maybe Choji wouldn’t be able to guess at the genius’s thoughts as he once had. The idea clenched around his heart like a vice, poison barbs piercing into him. The thoughts spreading like toxins as he began to doubt his friend, and more so, himself.

They’d known each other since childhood, and never before had they ever been apart for so long. He began to wonder just how much time it took for someone to change completely. Surely a couple weeks wouldn’t alter him that much?

He stood on the step for a good ten minutes, so caught up in his turmoil he didn’t even notice the creak of the door as it swung open and nearly collided with his nose.

“Oh crap! Sorry kid!” A tall brown haired woman chuckled her apology with the wave of her hand. She squeezed through the half open door, peering around to face him. She had the two fang like tattoos on her cheeks so Choji concluded she must be a member of the Inuzuka clan. 

“You here to see that other kid right? Black hair, bored eyes with the uh…” she gestured to her face and seemed to decide against elaborating. “Yeah, he said something about taking visitors now..” She seemed kind of out of it, focused on other things than the boy in front of her. Not that Choji was in much better shape at this point, his mind still reeling at the possibility of his broken relationship. She steps out of the way, offering him the open door at last and she finds a way to offer him a bright toothy smile.

“He’s just in the back, I’m sure he’ll be absolutely jazzed to see a fresh face.” She said with reassurance. “Go straight on through and don’t worry bout your shoes.” She added, throwing a thumb over her shoulder, and taking off.

_ His shoes? _ He wondered. It was pretty uncommon for someone to invite you in with your shoes on, even Inuzuka’s who seemed feral at times certainly didn’t trump through their homes with dirty sandals. At least, he’d never noticed Kiba to neglect removing his when visiting someone else’s home, surely a habit that would be hard to ignore. Besides, he had learnt from his mother, and even, regrettably, Yoshino, who had made it strictly clear that it was rude to waltz into a place with your shoes on. He’d just carry them, he decided at last, stepping into the building. 

When his eyes finally adjusted to the dim lighting, size was the first thing he noticed. It wasn’t so much a house as it was a barn- or at second glance, a very large kennel. He began to understand why she told him to leave his shoes on. 

The lower half of the building seemed to be entirely dedicated to dogs. The floor was covered in piles of dirt, drifts of hair, slobbery balls, chewed bones and well used beds. After taking it all in he decided he  _ would _ leave his sandals on.

A staircase to his right seemed to lead up to a second floor with a balcony overlooking this one. It extended beyond this room though, down a hall he couldn’t quite see. Just below the stairs was a raised up part of the room that consisted of a small kitchenette, dining room and a hallway leading the same direction as the one upstairs. The floor of which looked much cleaner, and he suspected shoes were removed before treading through there. Though he didn’t know how a half step stopped a dog from slobbering and tracking dirt, he assumed it was the Inuzuka’s fantastic understanding of the animals that allowed them to train them so thoroughly.

He wondered if recovering patients actually ate meals with the dogs as he crossed the floor, a few resting hounds cocking their heads and lifting ears as he passed through. Though they didn't seem to pay much mind besides that, to which he was glad. A few of them looked like they could deal a nasty bite to someone they didn’t like tromping through their territory. It made him feel a little better, knowing Shikamaru had so many vicious guards at his disposal. Just in case. He might have even stopped to pat a few in thanks, if he wasn’t so driven towards his goal.

He was finally going to see Shikamaru again, and as he stepped through the back door, the sun soaking his skin once more, he felt his earlier anxieties shed.

Shikamaru was his best friend, they would reconnect like nothing had even happened, he was sure of it.

The entire back yard was nothing but a huge clearing surrounded by trees, it stretched on further than he could see and, much like the center, was filled with all sorts of goodies. For a dog that is. Pools, squeaky toys, rubber tires and more bones littered the space. A few of the more active looking dogs bounced through the grass, fighting and playing in ignorance of the boy who had just entered their sanctuary, and he scanned the grassy area for any sign of the Nara boy.

A small caged in area to his left was boiling with yipping puppies, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of grey spring from the bushes and land beside him.

He followed Kiba in a light sprint as he bolted across the grass, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

“Choji! So glad you could make it, you can finally stop breathing down my neck!” he laughed as they rounded up the small hill. The slower of the two was about to ask where Shikamaru was when he reached the crest of the hill and skidded to a halt almost immediately. Grass and dirt skirting up as the heels of his shoes dug into the earth.

Kiba kept right on bouncing, him and Akumaru sliding to a stop next to the familiar figure in the grass. Who was laying, with his back to Choji, next to some huge white pooch. Kiba was already chatting away excitedly to him, and the way they spoke and smiled Choji might have thought he was a brother of Kiba’s. 

Except he knew better. Knew that voice, those hands, even that posture, better than he knew his way around an all you can eat buffet. Choji recognized that laugh when it finally bubbled up, and even without the ponytail- and that’s when Choji finally noticed. 

Shikamaru’s hair. 

Cropped short to the scalp, not a trace of the long locks Nara’s prided themselves on so much.


End file.
